... just my personal technology sandbox

Connect

About

Welcome! This personal web site will be mainly used to chronicle my journey through the software development world and assist me with testing out new software technologies and ideas.

It’s sort-of like a kids “sandbox” so to speak where I can build something up quickly, and then tear it down when I’m done. As such, by visiting today, you might see something completely different tommorrow. I’ll try to keep the “core” web site stable enough that if you wanted to link to a post, it won’t change too often. I can’t make any promises, however, my desire for learning and advancement will surely keep things moving forward…

Briefly, my journey so far…

Grew up on a farm near a small farming community in central Iowa

Graduated from Iowa State University (ISU) with a bachelor’s degree in computer science (BSCS)

Employed at several companies in Iowa as a business application developer in the mid to late 80’s

Consulted at various companies around the country throughout the 80’s and 90’s

Started a software consulting company in Austin called Brouwer, Palmer & Associates in the early 90’s. The company grew and turned into Brouwer, Palmer & Assoc, Inc., then BPA Systems, Inc., then Clear Orbit, until it was finally acquired by TAKE Supply Chain in the mid 2000’s. You can still click our original URL (http://www.bpainc.com/) to get to the current company.

To be continued…

I’ll be the first one to admit it! I’ve slacked off (technology-wise) the last couple of years! But its time to get back into the game! So it’s my intentions that this site will help me accomplish this goal. As such, this site is intended for my personal use; however, you’re welcome (and encouraged) to browse through it. I hope that you will find something useful from time to time.

Feel free to provide feedback on any of the articles with your own expertise and problem solving skills. I do, however, reserve the right to delete anything I deem offensive! Also, send me an email if you’re stumped with a particular problem that you think I might be able to help. I’m always up for a challenge.

I love open-source technologies, and I’m really just now beginning to embrace WordPress for the ability to get this site up and going quickly without much fuss. It’s light-weight, easily extendable (there are hundreds if not thousands of Plugins), and very flexible. Thank you to all who have contributed to making this software possible!

Currently, my personal technology stack is mainly Microsoft-centric. So many of the postings will be concentrated around issues and solutions I’m encountering around Microsoft .Net projects.